Youngmin POV:

For some reasons, the adults loved to hide the truth from children, only giving them small crumbs that hardly made a whole story. They thought kids would not understand, while actually they were just too lazy to explain.

At the age of 5, I was separated from my mother and younger twin and brought back to a castle full of strange creatures. No explanation. No apology. I was just there in the wrong place, at the wrong time. My mom was preventing my father and his followers from entering the house when I foolishly showed up at the door, oblivious to what was happening. Before I could even catch my breath, my father had grabbed hold of me. The last thing I remembered was my mom’s desperate call, before I fell into a deep sleep.

When I woke up, I was on a comfortable but foreign bed, in a giant dark room. It was really scary, and lonely. I spent the first few days crying my eyes out, begging them to return me to my mother. However, my father just sighed and left me to wail to the empty walls.

However because of me, they had let Kwangmin off the hook.

My father did not even know my name, nor was he aware of how many children he really had. Yet he pretended to care and told me it was for my own good to stay away from mom.

“Why?”, I had lost count of the number of time that question was voiced out.

Father simply said, “Because you and me are not the same as your mother. We are vampires. That’s why you can’t live with her. Do you understand?”

He was a man of few words, so he did not tell me anything more than that.

I certainly did not understand, neither did I trust someone who had made my mother cry.

In those story books, vampire was the scary creature who killed people at a snap of finger. I could not imagine myself or Kwangmin being one, neither did I find my father and the people in the castle dangerous. I concluded that he was lying and tried to find every opportunity to escape.

Living in the castle . I missed my mom and Kwangmin terribly. The people in the castle were generally friendly, though they all held an aura of secrecy that scared me. Furthermore, my mother had always kept me and Kwangmin inside the house while she worked. We had no neighbour and only saw the town folks in far distance from a small window in our shared bedroom. As a result, I felt extremely shy with strangers.

Minwoo was the closest person I could call friend. However, he was always serious and over-considerate to me that it was hard for me to open up (not that he seemed to be interested in hearing my concerns anyway). There was no way staying in this place was better than being showered by a mother’s warmth.

For Kwangmin’s sake, I kept my mouth shut, hoping that at least one of us could stay by mom’s side and not suffer in this old castle. If my father had known about him, he would definitely capture Kwangmin too.

Anyway, the people here had a body clock opposite of mine. They woke up at 6pm to have breakfast, while I went to sleep at 9PM like a good boy my mom taught me to be. Hence, I rarely saw my father, much less talked to him.

Only now when I think back, I wish that there was a chance for me to open up, to my father, to Minwoo, to just about anyone.

If I did, maybe things would not turn into such tragic end for Kwangmin.

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Kwangmin POV:

“K-kwangmin?”

In the nick of time, my mom’s scared voice snapped me out of my trance.

I let out a sharp breath, turning my head to look into the mirror, only to gasp at the ugly being staring back at me. Two sharp fangs were protruding out of my mouth. On top of that, my brown eyes had turned into an inhuman bright silver shade.

I looked like a monster.

“Kwang!! Wait!”

I ran out, ignoring my mom’s desperate call, “NO! Don’t go out!”

She had always kept me and Youngmin inside the house, never let us out of her sight. The outside wall was almost nothing but a colourful canvas to me and it was scary to be alone, but I had had no choice.

My only thought was to stay far away from her, so that I would not harm her, so that she was safe.

However, I did not expect to run into a big crowd outside the house. The strangers were most likely the town folks whom I had often seen from my window but never met. They all wore a stern expression, hands carrying spears or draggers.

“Monster!!!”

Noticing my abnormal state, they started screaming, pointing their weapons at me.

I did not want to harm anyone.

I just want to disappear.

But they did not understand.

They surrounded me and swung their torches to prevent me from running pass.

“Ahhh”, I shrieked, cowering as my skin burned at the contacts.

“Kwangmin”

Mom was by my side within minutes, shielding me away from the angry people.

“We knew something was fishy about you, woman”, one of the men shouted in disgust, “But we did not know you even keep monsters in your house”

“This is my son. You misunderstand us! I swear we don’t mean any harm!”, mom tried to explain, but the people gave us no room to defend ourselves.

 “Witch! Witch!”

They chanted, so loud that my mother’s voice could not be heard. They forced me and her apart, tying us into two wooden poles.

“Death sentence for any witchcraft practice”, an old man announced and a cold, smelly substance was splashed onto my body.

“Mom! Mommy!”

I cried out, drenched and scared of what was going to happen.

Why does everything have to turn wrong at the same time?

“Please! Please spare my son!”, begged my mother, only thinking of my safety, “Please!”

“Well we can show some mercy”

The random man said calmly, then smirked when the crowd started laughing, knowing what he was plotting, “We can burn you first, so you won't have to witness him dying”

“No- Aghhh!”

My mother screamed as a torch was thrown at her feet.

The strangers stood and watched as my mother was swallowed whole by the fire, laughing as if it was the most entertaining thing they had seen in their life.

Their eyes reflected the colour of the ruthless fire, making their eyes shined an inhuman shade.

… They looked like cruel yellow-eyed monsters that would haunt me for the rest of my life.

“Kwangmin! I love you! I love you…”, mom cried, calling my name again and again.

Till her last breath, she still begged for my life to be spared.

“STOP!! PLEASE! MOM! MOMMY!!”

I screamed with her.

I cried with her.

I begged with her.

I did not stop even when her voice was drown by the fire.

I did not stop even when her body felt onto the ground like a ragdoll, unmoving and lifeless.

SLAP!

My face flung to the side as a hand came to contact with my cheek harshly.

“Shut your bloody mouth! She is dead!”, shouted the owner of that hand.

“Leave him” Another one said, yawning in boredom, “The brat will die soon anyway. Stop wasting time. I want to get back to sleep as soon as possible”

Once again, the bunch of monsters let out those mocking laughter, totally unaffected by the death they had caused.

At some